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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25796932">Lost Paradise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endless_Torment/pseuds/Endless_Torment'>Endless_Torment</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rediscovered Bonds [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood Brothers Ending (Life is Strange 2), Brother/Brother Incest, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Jealousy, M/M, Nightmares, Possessive Behavior, Post-Canon, Translation in English, Underage Kissing, diazcest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:49:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25796932</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endless_Torment/pseuds/Endless_Torment</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles about the wolf brothers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Daniel Diaz/Sean Diaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rediscovered Bonds [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743988</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Self-reclusion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A translation of <a href="https://ficbook.net/readfic/9354173">Потерянный рай</a> by <a href="https://ficbook.net/authors/1674543">Momo-Yuu</a>.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lock up your discontent. Suppress, hide, and suppress. Pretend that you're okay, pretend that your chest isn't being torn to shreds by the harpy's claws of worry and sadness. Breathe evenly, calmly. Do not chew your lips into blood, do not tear off only thinly crusted wounds, do not leave deep purple furrows on your own tanned skin with your nails in a paroxysm of irritation.</p><p>He wouldn't understand. The edifying tone and wistful look, the constant "I told you so," the hand gently on the shoulder, the weather-beaten lips just above the bridge of the nose. He does not want to upset him, give him food for thought, doubt and self-eating. Don't be a troubled, balanced, quiet, and meek little brother who isn't in love with Sean.</p><p>"I have to pretend that there are others," Daniel greedily savors the unforgettable lines. "But that's a lie. There is only you."</p><p>He forbade it. Strictly and inexorably. It would be better if these personal, intimate feelings weren't known by anyone living. The sweet, resonant word "secret", learned in Seattle in his parents' house, not forgotten on the way to nowhere, suddenly turned into a dark and fearful "mystery": eyes to eyes and no resistance.</p><p>Daniel obeys with a screech, with a mute "why is everything so?", with longing and a hidden resentment. Something important had just been rudely and callously taken from him. Sean sees it. Sean is comforting. Weightlessly touching his lips, hugging his thin shoulders and looking insistently into his eyes. With him, the "mystery" again turns into a "secret", and the cold turns into a fever that burns to the very bone.</p><p>But here it is again. Doubts fill the sultry silence.</p><p>She is wearing a light polka-dot dress, a wide-brimmed hat, and an ingratiating smile. She is bursting with health and passion. Her skin is dark and soft, used to the Mexican sun, and her lips are full and soft; quick, languid, playful phrases bounce off them in a simple and free way.</p><p>Sean answers her steady, calm, looking only into her eyes. She twirls like a cub, laughing contagiously, covering her brightly colored lipsticked mouth with an elegant palm. She takes a decisive step forward, her shoulder touching Sean's. He's serene, wiping his oil-stained hands with a rag, smiling to himself.</p><p>She devours him with her eyes and Daniel knows what vivid images her imagination conjures up when she looks at his brother. After all, he sees them every time he closes his eyes.</p><p>He's tired of this.</p><p>She puts her arm around him and whispers something in his ear, covering it with her hand so that no one will hear the secret message. She laughs and Sean allows it. She's a client. The sacred word in the walls of the workshop. Do what you want and accept it.</p><p>Daniel bites his lips fiercely, feeling the blood come out on them, and the metallic taste is bitter on the tip of his tongue.</p><p>She drew him into her colorful, operatic world of amorous madness, and Sean pretended to follow her obediently. He just doesn't want to ruin the client base, just doesn't want to ruin his father's business by finally burying it.</p><p>"He's just pretending," Daniel repeats to himself, fighting disbelief, drowning suspicion in muddy waters, angry with himself.</p><p>He needs to vent your anger, let go of his irritation, and let the destruction take its course. Otherwise, the trouble won't be avoided. Daniel breathes deeply, bringing to mind the days of the past he vowed to forget. And he remembers. Persistently and invariably. He remembers well how his power turned out. Great power is a great responsibility, but when emotions run over the edge, when anger blurs his eyes, when blood boils like lava, Daniel forgets how strong he really is. And then destruction surrounds him with poisonous flowers, encircling him, touching everything with a spell of corruption and decay.</p><p>To this day, Daniel has vivid, indelible nightmares in which the flowers of aconite, a symbol of his uncontrollable anger and aggression, attack Sean, robbing him of his eyes. In an empty eye socket, the blackness mixes with the thick, tar-like blood, which pulsates and bursts out in clots, and the blue harbingers of death feed on it, bursting out and exploding. Sean holds back the sharp pain and hiding the cry, whispers, twists his bloody lips with a smile: "Enano, it's OK."</p><p>Daniel sighs. She still clings to Sean, insistently demanding his attention, and he humbly responds to her. It will all end one day. One day, he and Sean will get rid of prying eyes and an endless stream of guests forever. One day they will be happy in a world of calm that is only disturbed by the sea, rushing on the sandy shore, whispering immortal legends.</p><p>He leaves. He pulls away from the wall, turns around, and heads upstairs to his father's office. But before he does, Daniel acts on a juvenile whim. His power obeys his will without question, and the heavy door of the auto shop opens wide and then closes, shaking the house with a monstrous crash.</p><p>With that done Daniel leaves, and the once-cheerful girl, surprised by the chilling noise, screams loudly.</p><p>"It's just the wind," Sean reassures her.</p><hr/><p>The room is still dirty, smells of dust, and the windows should have been washed long ago. In fact, it's not even an office. Just a small room with an open door, cluttered with unnecessary things, boxes, and half-empty cabinets, which Sean had begun to refer to as "my father's office" with a certain pathos.</p><p>When they first arrived, his brother would come here all the time, smoke and look at the things left behind, scrupulously searching for traces of dad's former life in Puerto Lobos. Sometimes Sean found it hard, unbearable, and when in painful need of solitude, he'd come here, sit on the boxes, light a cigarette with dad's lighter, and flip through old magazines, albums and books, protecting himself from the world, his brother and a new, unpredictable life.</p><p>He'd silently shed tears over the yellowed, withered pages, while Daniel sat in the corridor, his back against the wall, biting his lips and not knowing how to help him, how to dispel the sadness and the dust-caked sadness of the roads. And now Daniel doesn't know how to save himself, save himself from these empty thoughts.</p><p>He flips through the magazine that Sean left behind, trying to get some peace of mind, but his mind is still down there. What if Sean likes her? She's beautiful. Young. She wants to hug him. What if he couldn't resist her feminine charms? And he would want to be with her. Love her. To share with her all that he so wrongly and wickedly shares with his own brother. One day he'll bring her into their house and say, "Daniel, I'm sorry." What then? Does he have to accept it? To say, "It's OK, Sean, it's the right thing to do."</p><p>We're still together, we're still close, but how long will that last?</p><p>"What are going to do in the future?" Juan, the client, had recently asked him so causally.</p><p>The "I'll stay with Sean until the end" option would have sounded perverse, but Daniel still said, without thinking, "I'm going to help Sean." He would never let him go. He will be there until the end. Nothing can separate the wolf brothers. This path for two, and a common fate they chose together on the border, crossing the law, morality and allowing a vicious bond to fuse their bodies and souls together.</p><p>After the massacre, Sean squeezed his hand tightly, comforting and confirming: "We will share happiness, sorrow and sins in half. Nothing can separate us now."</p><p>Greedy, jealous, possessive. Daniel bit his already split lip until it hurt again. How to quench your thirst? How do you stop being jealous? How to find the distance between them, to regain the boundaries lost in a long journey? But seriously, why does he need to do that? He likes everything as it is. He doesn't want to change anything. If only Sean would become inaccessible, if only he would remain completely his and not let anyone take him away from him.</p><p>"Daniel?"</p><p>Daniel flinches and almost drops the magazine. Sean stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the jamb, studying his brother.</p><p>Daniel tries to pretend that everything is all right. He has, as usual, found something that distracted him from his tooth-crushing homework, but he wanted to exclaim: "Stop looking at her eyes!".</p><p>"More math problems?" Sean asks. "The previous topic is complex. Especially for you," a soft chuckle. "Who's not equipped for the exact sciences."</p><p>"Yeah," Daniel agrees, ignoring the taunt and looking away, dropping the magazine on the boxes and standing by the window, pretending to be interested in the monotonous landscape that opens out of it.</p><p>"Don't be sad. When I'm free, we'll do it."</p><p>"Mm-hmm."</p><p>"Anything else?"</p><p>"In the plan?"</p><p>"Why are you so glum? Is something wrong?"</p><p>"No," Daniel dodges.</p><p>Sean doesn't like jealousy. He sees no reason for it, and every time Daniel showed it he'd catch a reproachful look, get scolded for his distrust, suspicion and wild imagination. Relationships are supposed to be built on trust and Sean doesn't want to justify every person in his life and constantly prove to Daniel that he's not in love with anyone but him. In a relationship, you want to feel confident, calm, and protected. Daniel understands this. Sean deserves peace.</p><p>"All right," the older man nods and moves closer. "One more thing."</p><p>Daniel is waiting for another lecture, some instructive word, which sometimes Sean has too many of. At times, he tries too hard to put on the mask of a good, caring brother, responsible for the fate of the younger one. This mask had been needed when Daniel was nine and needed his protection, but not now when he was seventeen. And their relationship has gone far beyond fraternal. Sometimes Sean forgets that in this relationship they're equals, that Daniel is not just an annoying young brother who needs to be protected day and night. He can protect himself just fine. And not just himself.</p><p>"Stop chewing on them," Sean blurts, in an unaccustomed low voice, and his thumb touches the springy, crippled lips.</p><p>He never does that outside of their bedroom.</p><p>Daniel is instantly embarrassed, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks, and his breathing quickens, betraying the rush of excitement. Sean barely touched his lips. But his entire body is on fire, and a tight knot is tightening in the pit of his stomach.</p><p>Daniel doesn't enjoy being seventeen, because everything that Sean does causes a violent, vivid, uncontrollable reaction in him. He feels excited, depraved, delusional. Sex had once made him feel disgusted, if not terrified, but now one ordinary touch was enough to turn him on like a high-quality erotica. Was Sean like that at his age? He's ashamed to even ask.</p><p>'Relax," Sean advises mockingly, turning around, knowing the state he put his brother in. "We'll talk tonight, okay? By the way, dinner is on you tonight."</p><p>Daniel nods, but doesn't speak, the words stuck somewhere in his throat, and his heart was pounding like crazy in his chest. Infuriating, but he doesn't bite his lip.</p><p>He can still feel Sean's finger pressing against him like a weightless pillow. It is pleasant to the point of shivering and even tingles with pleasure. It takes Daniel a few minutes to regain his breath, to break away from the forbidden images that occupy his brain.</p><p>His hands are wet, lips are burning, and his body is in the grip of heat and dissatisfaction. How annoying it all is! He would like to be done with nervous, depraved age, get rid of the shackles of youth, nocturnal emissions, vicious fantasies, mood swings and hot flashes, and become an adult, calm and reserved like Sean.</p><p>Daniel went to the bathroom and washes his ruddy face with cold water, but does not dry it off. The drops from his face travel down his hot body, threads running down the neck to the chest. One persistent drop reaches all the way to the navel, disappearing somewhere in his cleavage. In front of the mirror, Daniel condemns himself, but not seriously, for the sake of decency.</p><p>In front of his eyes was not his reflection, but Sean, who was still gently touching his lips with a smug smile. He enjoyed seeing his reaction and getting him worked up. What's more; he does it on purpose.</p><hr/><p>The lights in the brothers' room won't go out tonight. In the kitchen there's a frying pan, plates, forks, knives and glasses piled in the sink, not even filled with water. The burnt dinner would be hard to peel off from the old kitchen utensils tomorrow. He'll definitely be getting an earful from Sean about that, but Daniel would worry about that later.</p><p>The blue checkered notebook with the task in hand still lay on the glass table in the living room: Sean had just written "dano" when Daniel grabbed his arm and pulled him away.</p><p>"Daniel," Sean gasps in a strangled voice.</p><p>Strange tone. Greased. What does he mean? To stay? Continue? Or is it an exclamation of surprise? Praise? Daniel thinks feverishly, but doesn't dwell on any of the options, going through them like business cards in a coat pocket. Thoughts pass through without hindrance, without disturbing the mind; they burst like lights and immediately go out, without allowing them to be analyzed. He's thinking of something else now.</p><p>Daniel expertly saddles the thighs of a naked Sean, who's sprawled on the bed as if on a cross. He runs his hands over his firm chest, enjoying its firmness and warmth. He rhythmically moves his hips, rubbing unrestrained. And the power given to him does not allow his brother to move, pinning him to the bed.</p><p>"Daniel," Sean repeats, still in the same incomprehensible tone, and leans forward.</p><p>The younger one smiles. This is how it should be.</p><p>In a fit of desire, he takes his brother's face in his hands presses against his forehead with his own, as they used to do when they were children.</p><p>"Just look at me," Daniel says firmly, petulantly, like a small child, and pulls his brother into a deep kiss.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Nightmares</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A translation of <a href="https://ficbook.net/readfic/9354173">Потерянный рай</a> by <a href="https://ficbook.net/authors/1674543">Momo-Yuu</a>.</p><p>Pure gen.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"That's it," Sean said, thrilled, pushing Daniel towards the room.</p><p>Daniel stood at the doorstep and did not dare to make a move. He looked cautiously, suspiciously. Even though he's trying to put on a smile. Sean did his best. He had turned an empty, gray, and drab room, with the entire perimeter occupied with cobwebs, into a cozy place for privacy. He cleaned the windows until they shined, found a contractor who fixed the air conditioner in one visit, washed the floors, disinfected the room several times, fixed the lock on the door himself (in case Daniel would want to hide from everyone), and patched the leaky roof.</p><p>Together with his brother, they covered the walls with blue wallpaper, drew soft and fluffy clouds on it, and Sean had gotten creative and even drew two wolves, which made Daniel even happier. Though, the room was not richly furnished; an iron bed, a nightstand, a sagging chest of drawers, but there was a brand-new desk with a chair to do homework. Sean even hung blue curtains and nailed a night light to the wall above the bed.</p><p>"There's not enough life here," he told Daniel, with a wink, suggesting that it was up to his brother to make the room more alive.</p><p>At first, Daniel wanted his own room. He had always had it back in Seattle, but traveling had forced him to give up his former comforts. They had to live somehow, sleep where they could, and if he spent the night under a roof in a warm place, it was always in the same room with Sean (not to mention the same bed).</p><p>Once in their father's abandoned house, after looking through every room, looking into every corner, scouting everything, he decided that he wanted to live in this one (he really liked the view of the sea from its window), and immediately told Sean about it. He was okay with it. He was already set up in the next room with a broken window and no door. However, Daniel's abode had been dirty and unsuitable to live in. It took him almost a month to settle it in. Daniel had gotten all worked up while he waited for everything to be sorted out. And now, finally, it's done. His own room, which he had been waiting for.</p><p>But happiness does not think to captivate the chest, joy does not burst outwards, but splashes somewhere at the bottom.</p><p>The room looked much better. It is pleasant to the eye and even smells good. It's not as good as the one in his former home, but it's still great. Daniel knows he should be happy. Sean tried to please him in everything. He even let him choose where the bed would be (even if he didn't like the idea of a bed being right under the air conditioner). So why wasn't he happy about this at all?</p><p>"Come on in," Sean says, nudging him gently in the back, and Daniel obeyed.</p><p>The floor barely creaks under his feet. The younger one smiles a little. It reminds him of a room in Seattle. The floorboards creaked in one place. That dreary sound used to piss him off all the time, but now hearing it far from home, Daniel feels something akin to happiness.</p><p>His eyes immediately catch the two painted wolves running towards him. It's damn beautiful. Even though the only colors Sean used were black, gray, and white, the wolves' eyes were still sky blue. Daniel hopes that Sean will paint something else later. It would be great if his drawings filled the walls completely. Then Daniel could spend days looking at images and thinking about something.</p><p>"I envy your mattress," Sean says cheerfully, hopping onto the bed. "Soft and elastic and mine is like stone."</p><p>"You're lying," Daniel says, squinting in disbelief. "I've slept on it. It's not made of stone."</p><p>He sits down next to his brother. The mattress really is soft. Sean searched for it for quite awhile. There weren't many furniture stores in Puerto Lobos, so he had to work hard to find one that would fit his brother's narrow bed. And how difficult it was for him to drag it in the heat for almost five kilometers! Daniel was more than a little angry with Sean at the time: he hadn't even told him about it, deciding that he could handle everything himself. With his powers, the task would have been much easier done. Except Sean was too stubborn to take any shortcuts.</p><p>"Finally at night I won't get kicked," Sean smiles, lightly elbowing his brother's side. "And you won't hear me snore again."</p><p>"You don't snore," Daniel admits. He made up the story and just wanted to embarrass Sean. And he's not ashamed at all.</p><p>"Thought so," Sean's not angry, on the contrary smiling, having already guessed that it was a lie. "It's almost nine o'clock. I have to go to the contractor tomorrow. Maybe he can fix the shower for us. So I'm going to bed and you have fun! I'll let you watch TV until morning. Just don't forget to brush your teeth."</p><p>"I'd rather go to bed."</p><p>"What's the matter?" Sean asked worriedly and immediately puts the back of his hand to Daniel's forehead. "No fever. Does anything hurt?"</p><p>"No, I'm just tired."</p><p>"How can you be tired doing nothing? Although… It's so hot in here. Anyone could die."</p><p>Daniel had to suppress a groan as Sean gets out of bed and continues to pour out instructions. Again, he reminds him about dehydration, sunscreen, healthy sleep, hygiene and discretion. If Daniel hadn't been so depressed and tired, he would have shut his brother up instantly. He's tired of hearing about skin cancer, strangers, and needs to always be close to him (without him, trouble will definitely happen!). Sometimes Sean bursts through like a pipe. There's no stopping the excitement. Daniel knows it's because he's worried, but he talks too much about the dangers around here. His brother worries a lot for no reason. And that's not good at all. You can no longer say "caution", but assume "paranoia".</p><p>"Okay, that's enough," Sean stops himself. "We need to get some rest. I'm sure you do."</p><p>After his brother leaves, Daniel goes to the bathroom where he thoroughly brushes his teeth. The mirror is there with a huge crack in the center. The boy brushes his teeth and looks at them spellbound. The nondescript mirror suddenly turned into a majestic map where only the river is marked. Beautiful. He found it soothing.</p><p>Daniel stands in front of the peculiar picture longer than necessary. He looks and doesn't want to look away. In fact, he just doesn't want to go back to the room. He doesn't want to go to bed. He doesn't want to sleep there. There's something in there that's causing him anxiety and driving him away. His heart is uneasy. He's trying to find a reason, he's twisting the situation around, but he can't find the answer to the silent question. Everything's fine there. But he still feels bad about something.</p><p>After finishing the water procedures, Daniel went to his room, but on the way he stopped outside his brother's room for a few minutes. Still no door. Sean promised to put it in, but he never found the time, too busy fixing up his room. However, he seems to be fine as it is. He sits on the bed with his back to Daniel, sketching in his old sketchbook.</p><p>This afternoon, he had gone to buy pajamas for Daniel (he had chosen dark blue ones with stars to remind him of nights spent on the outside in Arizona) and had made a few sketches on the way. All day now they are added on to and refined. Applying shadows, drawing contours, and adding details. He looks calm and focused during the lesson. So Daniel does not wish him good night, but quietly passes by, allowing his brother to create in silence. He wants to speak out. Talk about his fears and vague feelings of anxiety. But what could Sean do to help?</p><p>The room is fresh. It smells like lemon and a little chlorine. Almost like a swimming pool. Daniel takes a deep breath and winces slightly. Pleasant, but still unusual. Though he would soon get use to it.</p><p>He quickly changes into short blue shorts and a t-shirt to match them with a Superman logo imprinted on it. Another gift from Sean, requested by Daniel, who as soon as he saw it at the market, just had to have it. In Seattle, Daniel had several pajamas depending on the season. And here, it seems, only one will be needed. Sean usually sleeps in his underwear.</p><p>Daniel turns off the light and turns on the night light. Twists the plastic wheel, choosing the highest intensity. It's a little calmer this way. The light is soft, soothing, streaming down the wall. Daniel lies down on the bed, pulling a light blanket over himself, staring at the night light.</p><p>To be honest, he liked Sean's room a lot better. Sean has a double bed, so they fit perfectly together. The mattress is hard, but you get used to it quickly. The softness of this new bed confuses him somehow, makes him tense. Daniel has already gotten used to sleeping in uncomfortable places, after which the whole body breaks and drives. But he'll get used to the softness too. You get used to good things faster.</p><p>But Sean is missing from his side. Of course, he irritated Daniel quite often when he couldn't lie down for a long time though, stuck on his phone or drawing something in a sketchbook, always leaving every hour to smoke. He would come into the room chewing peppermint gum, which did not hide the stench of tobacco that had seeped into his clothes and body.</p><p>In the morning, Sean would get up early and constantly wake Daniel up with the noise of his clumsy body trying to put on clothes and find the artifacts among the scattered items. Irritated conversations at breakfast, when Sean didn't get enough sleep and accused Daniel of being too aggressive in bed: "You hit me right in the eye! I'll tie you up for the night if you don't stop." There were no alternatives, so Daniel didn't worry that Sean would at some point turn him out of his hard bed, forcing him to spend the night somewhere in the moldy and fungus-covered bathroom.</p><p>Despite all these disadvantages of sleeping together, Daniel and his brother were happy. The nightmares weren't so bad anymore. Every time he woke up in horror, he could grab Sean by the shoulder and he would wake up, immediately comforting and calming him, making the terrifying images disappear. Daniel had learned that nothing would happen as long as Sean was with him. He will protect him.</p><p>Now that unshakeable confidence is gone. It would seem that they are separated only by a thin wall, and Daniel already feels threatened, and in the sea's voice, coming from the street, he hears only terrible predictions.</p><p>Nothing terrible will happen. He honestly tries to tame the fear. He's old enough to sleep alone. He's ten years old! Mexico is not the friendliest place, but he's got powers. Everything will be fine. Daniel repeats the sacred mantra without stopping, crumpling the blanket and closing his eyes tightly.</p><p>He's afraid that if he opens them, he'll see something terrible and dangerous. Daniel cringes with excitement, remembering the soothing timbre of Sean's voice, imagining that his brother is right there. Sitting right next to his bed and making up another story about the wolf brothers. Now they have reached their goal. They've found a home. But the best part is ahead of them...</p><p>Just as Daniel gives himself up to fantasy, just as he sees something other than darkness, there is a crash and someone's loud, painful scream. Inside, everything shrinks into a ball. The dream immediately recedes.</p><p>The boy jumps out of bed and almost falls, tangled in the blanket. His gaze immediately finds danger: a smeared, twisted figure is smashing against the window and scraping at the glass with its long nails, intending to break it.</p><p>This creature wants to kill him. It's been following him from the very beginning of his journey. Perhaps it serves Lisbeth and seeks revenge. Daniel screams at the top of his voice in horror. He doesn't want to die. There is another grating, rattling sound, but he doesn't look at his pursuer. Only forward. The boy runs out of the room, almost hitting the wall, and flies to his brother.</p><p>The noise makes Sean stand up. He's half-awake in his underwear and doesn't understand what's going on. He squints at the bright light of the lamp above his head and holds his brother by the shoulders, asking him to speak slowly, more carefully, and not to shout incoherent, unintelligible nonsense.</p><p>Daniel's heart is beating fast under his ribs. Even breathing is hard. It's as if a heavy object is pressing down on his chest. Painfully. He tries to explain what happened several times, but his breath isn't enough. He can't breathe.</p><p>"Sit down," Sean commands, and sets his brother on the edge of his bed, then pours him a glass of water from the bottle that always stands on the nightstand. "Have a drink and calm down."</p><p>Daniel gulps down the warm water, drenching himself, the bed, and the floor. Sean doesn't swear. He pats his brother on the shoulder and stares at his face. This is not a prank. Daniel is truly scared about something.</p><p>After calming down a little, Daniel finds the strength to tell what happened. He stutters and repeats, but Sean doesn't interrupt. He saw something terrible outside the window. Some kind of monster. It was trying to get into his room. It wants to kill him. It must have been following him from the church, or it might have picked up his trail earlier.</p><p>Sean doesn't comment on the story, just nods knowingly. "Let's look at it together," he blurts.</p><p>"It's still there!" Daniel breaks down.</p><p>"My friend, I'm sure we can handle it together. Have you forgotten that you're a superhero?" Sean points at the Superman logo on his brother's chest. "Besides, I'll be with you. Let's go."</p><p>Daniel doesn't want to. He's scared. But Sean pulls his hand and repeats confidently that everything is fine and no one is there. It's just a dream. The usual nightmare. He already had them, but Daniel is adamant because he knows for sure that someone is there. He hadn't imagined it. The predatory shadow is still in his room. But what if it's dangerous? Sean can't handle it alone. It's not like he has powers. So Daniel suppresses the fear that shackles his body, permeates it to the very bones, and walks on wadded feet, clutching his brother's warm hand. Isn't he scared at all? Doesn't the story frighten him? Or does he not believe it? Doubts?</p><p>Here is the room. The door is wide open. Sean doesn't cross the threshold, but goes to the edge of the room and uses his free hand to search the blue wallpaper for the light switch. Finally, his hand finds it and presses it. There's a hollow click, and the room is filled with bright, blinding light. Daniel expects that the shadow will be somewhere near the window, trying to hide from their eyes, or attack, determined to kill. But the room is empty.</p><p>"You see," Sean says calmly as he enters the room, pulling his brother along with him. "It's just…"</p><p>Suddenly he falls silent. Daniel doesn't understand the sudden silence at first, then looks around. He hadn't even noticed. So focused on the threat of the shadows waiting in the dark, he didn't pay any attention to the devastation. The windows were broken along with the frame, the curtains torn off with the cornice and lying limp on the floor, all the drawers of the dresser were pulled out, things sticking out of them, a chair overturned, and the shining nightlight trembled as if it were shaking with fear, just as Daniel looked at it.</p><p>"It's…"</p><p>Horrible. So much wasted work. Sean tried so hard. Put so much effort into it. And it wasn't a shadow that did it. Daniel's mind clears the vision. The image clears and becomes terrifyingly clear. The handwriting is recognizable. He had seen such destruction many, many times before. He did It. Himself. He just had another nightmare.</p><p>"I don't…"</p><p>It was just a dream. A nightmare. Something stupid. But Daniel was sure someone was there. He can still feel the monster's predatory gaze on him. Was all that just an illusion created by his feverish imagination? And in reality, the only monster is himself.</p><p>"He… I was sure he was there."</p><p>Hot tears run down Daniel's cheeks. Sean looks at the mess and says nothing. His attention is drawn to the broken window. He lets go of Daniel's wet hand and steps toward the shattered glass. The shards glisten beautifully in the moonlight.</p><p>"I-I'll clean it up!" Daniel promises, heading for his brother.</p><p>"Stay where you are," Sean says. "There's glass everywhere. At least I have my slippers on."</p><p>Daniel looks down, realizing that he ran out of the room without putting on his shoes.</p><p>"We'll do it tomorrow," the older man announces calmly. "I'd like to get some more sleep, wouldn't you?"</p><p>Sean smiles. He's not angry. Or pretending not to be angry. But Daniel doesn't look at him. His gaze is fixed on his tanned feet, and the tears are still pouring out of his eyes, and he can't stop them. My shoulders shudder, and my insides turn to stone. Again, he couldn't control his own strength. Again he had destroyed. He had promised Sean on their first night in Mexico that he would be strong, brave, and not let his powers get out of his control. His brother believed him and once again, Daniel had failed him.</p><p>"He lost an eye because of you," an inner voice reminds him, and Daniel covers his face with his hands.</p><p>Sean said he was special. That's flattering... and a lie. He's a monster.</p><p>"Enano, what is it?" Sean touches his brother's shoulder gently. "It was just a nightmare. There's no one here. Everything's OK. Why are you crying?"</p><p>Daniel would have told him. About everything that's troubling him. But Sean can't do anything about it. It's already happened. He feels that the words "it's not your fault" and "everything will be fine" won't help him. Daniel knows everything that's happened is his fault. He'll eventually have to accept that fact and learn to live with it. But for now, he's too young for that. He wants to turn back the clock: he wants dad to be alive, he wants Seattle to still be their home, he wants Lyla to still be his friend, he doesn't want powers, and he wants his biggest problem to be tomorrow's homework. All this is lost, lost, but not forgotten. He'll never get his old life back.</p><p>"I'm here, Daniel," Sean reassures, his tone warm and calm. "I'll always be here for you."</p><p>That's the only thing that matters right now. Daniel wipes his wet eyes to look at his brother. Sean is on his knees in front of him, still stroking his shoulders. It's hard for him, too. He knows that he will never return to the world where his father, Lyla, school, and such stupid worries were. But he doesn't give up. He keeps going forward. "I will do everything for us," Sean once vowed. And now Daniel wants to take the oath. Only for Sean's sake would he keep going forward.</p><p>But the flow of tears doesn't stop. Sean wipes the wet tracks with his finger and smiles sympathetically.</p><p>"You'll definitely get a headache. Shall we go to bed?"</p><p>"I don't want to sleep here," Daniel says, shuddering nervously.</p><p>"What about my room?"</p><p>"I kick in my sleep." Daniel reminded.</p><p>"I lied," Sean grinned.</p><p>Not true. Daniel saw the bruises on his brother's arms and legs. He's a restless sleeper. But he still gives in to persuasion. Sean pulls him by the hand, tells him that everything will be fine, promises that it will only be for one night.</p><p>Daniel is already getting sleepy. His eyelids droop, and his body felt heavy. He goes to bed, but he doesn't hurry to close his eyes. Sean is there, covering him with a blanket and stroking his chest.</p><p>"You're not going anywhere?" Daniel asks warily.</p><p>"No," Sean says with another grin. "Even if you kick me. Come on, man, it's late. Time for bed."</p><p>"You sure it was just a nightmare?"</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"But it all seemed so real… Am I going crazy?"</p><p>"Nonsense, you're just tired. Come on, it's bedtime."</p><p>"I'm scared," Daniel finally confesses.</p><p>Without a word, Sean took his hand and squeezed it tightly.</p><p>"Tell me a story," Daniel says, softly. "The wolf brothers have reached their new home."</p><p>"That's right, and a new chapter has begun."</p><p>"And what happened next?"</p><p>Daniel doesn't listen to the new story. He knows that Sean will come up with a thousand more for him. The most important thing is his voice and palm. His brother is nearby. Nothing bad will happen. The night will be quiet, followed by a quiet day. Everything will be all right. Sean will take care of everything.</p><p>"Just for one night," Daniel reminds himself, drowning in sleep, already knowing full well that this is another lie.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. First kiss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A translation of <a href="https://ficbook.net/readfic/9354173">Потерянный рай</a> by <a href="https://ficbook.net/authors/1674543">Momo-Yuu</a>.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sean froze like a stone statue. He was completely paralyzed. There is a fantastic confusion in his head, questions here and there, stale shame and embarrassment, a little anxiety, heat, impatience, bitter desire; like a killer cocktail that cements a sluggish, pliable body. There is no way to escape. Daniel's thin hands are on his shoulders, and his lips are on his lips. Soft, warm, slightly rough, which persistently cling to his, demanding an answer, persistently pushing forward. The younger brother closed his eyes tightly and clung to Sean with a death grip. Too belligerent for a kiss.</p><p>Especially for a first kiss.</p><p>It was like a dream. A good dream, the kind you never tell anyone.</p><p>Finally, Daniel pulls away and quickly wipes his lips with the back of his hand and looks into his brother's eyes. Very expressive, demanding, relentless, as if he wants some decisive remark or comment. Sean is still stunned by the act, so he can only manage a weak smile. He doesn't quite understand what just happened.</p><p>There was no sign of trouble. He was sitting quietly in the living room, drinking a warm beer from a can, listening to music, endlessly adjusting his faulty headphones, drawing the familiar sandy landscape outside the window, transforming it beyond recognition, when suddenly, like a tornado, an excited and strangely silent Daniel burst into the room. He didn't say "Hello", but immediately rushed to his brother on the sofa. The first thing he did was snatch the battered, expensive sketchbook out of Sean's hands and throw it on the table, then grab him by the broad shoulders, and then…</p><p>In Sean's fantasy, it was a little different. He is ready to admit to himself honestly that he wanted to kiss his own brother one day, but he persistently pushed away all evil, forbidden thoughts, not wanting to give them the ground for growth. It's all fleeting. They spend too much time together. Therefore, the imagination is bubbling. Sean refused even to indulge in such fanciful and unscrupulous thoughts, forbidding them even to break into his dreams. Until Daniel came along and brought them to life.</p><p>His brother will be sixteen in a couple of days. A difficult age. Many problems. Bright flashes of emotion. Senseless aggression. Right now, Sean understands his brother the least. He's become some kind of natural disaster, ready to turn everything in his way. Unpredictable, impulsive, willful. Sean can't believe he used to be exactly the same. And this prank is absolute nonsense. This was not what he had expected from his little brother.</p><p>Recently, Sean had begun to feel that his relationship with Daniel had somehow changed. They have become a little more open, close. Or rather, dangerously close. There used to be something more to their lives, but now it's all too obvious. They are constantly together, always close, sharing the whole world with each other, ignoring the remaining one, or rather, not letting it enter their own universe, not allowing strangers to enter their small, secluded paradise.</p><p>This makes their bond stronger and, unfortunately, more vicious.</p><p>Sean doesn't want to be a problem for his brother. Does not want to become the culprit of an irreparable tragedy. Therefore, he is silent, hiding, trying to gain a saving distance that would be comfortable for both of them. But Daniel was used to intimacy. He doesn't want to leave Sean's room, doesn't want to put more distance between them, doesn't want to pretend that the other people who surround him every day mean something to him. "What does Daniel want?" is the most difficult question that the brothers can't answer.</p><p>"It was unexpected," Sean says on a breath, taking his brother's hands off his shoulders. "Is this some kind of experiment? A prank?"</p><p>Daniel doesn't answer, but Sean has already studied him well enough: the words sting him. He leans back a little on the armrest, purses his lips and looks hurt, upset, and then breaks eye contact. But the cause of his sudden actions, Sean can not identify. He still hovers in the memory, feels someone else's lips on his… How could this happen? And did it actually happen? Is this another dream where cherished dreams become reality? What if this is a reality that, under the power of unknown forces, turns into a dream inspired by fantasies?</p><p>"I want pizza for dinner," Daniel says suddenly, jumping up from the sofa, clearly intending to disappear upstairs.</p><p>Sean grabs his brother's wrist and looks into his eyes.</p><p>He acts without thinking, on the burst of a variety of emotions. A phrase spins on the tip of his tongue. The one that is worth voicing now. He often said it when he was alone, but Sean can't help himself. He looks at Daniel pleadingly, and Daniel looks away, but doesn't pull his hand back.</p><p>Unable to find an answer in his gaze, Sean sinks lower to his lips. "Your mouth removes all sin from my lips," the last lines from Shakespeare are remembered and burned into his memory forever, so that he will never forget this captivating moment.</p><p>Sean lets go of the thin wrist and then kisses his brother on the lips. Fast, swift awkward. Again, not as he imagined. Just a touch. Fleeting, but very decisive.</p><p>He pulls away and hesitantly looks at Daniel's face, afraid to be met with incomprehension, irritation or anger. One could have described it as a boring, mediocre and depressing kiss. But instead Daniel looks surprisingly happy. He touches the tips of his fingers to his springy lips, and the smile immediately widens.</p><p>And now the brother are facing each other. Completely open, naked, sincere. It's time to talk, discuss, understand. Their lips are burning with a forbidden kiss, and their thoughts are dissolute visions. But neither of them take a step forward. They agree in silence, conferring with their eyes, feeling that the time for revelations has not yet come. Their feelings are of the same nature, but they do not yet have the right words to express them. Everything will be slow and quiet. Step by step. Even if it takes many years. It will happen one day anyway. This promise. Or maybe an oath similar to the ones that are given under the festive bell.</p><p>"Pizza, then?" Sean asks in his usual bored, matter-of-fact tone, picking up the discarded sketchbook and continuing to smile contentedly.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Morning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A translation of <a href="https://ficbook.net/readfic/9354173">Потерянный рай</a> by <a href="https://ficbook.net/authors/1674543">Momo-Yuu</a>.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was an old, ancient dream, long forgotten, corroded with salt and sprinkled with ashes. A dream that seemed like it would never happen again. He was left in that serene life, in another country, in a beloved home that Sean could never call his own again. But when the heart is filled with the unshakeable certainty that everything precious is lost forever and carried away by the indomitable sea element, a stubborn ray of the past rushes into the present, bringing back vague images from another life, which it is pointless to dream about, which they have decided not to remember, so as not to delve into old wounds.</p><p>Sean opens his heavy eyelids slowly, unwilling to part with his cherished vision. There's no clear picture anymore. It's faded. It's dissolved. Shattered into small pieces and mixed with the beach outside the window. There was only a blurred sketch left, melted like a drop of watercolor paint on a sheet of paper. The trail disappears, goes nowhere, and Sean is left with nothing but a strange, disturbing aftertaste of the long-awaited encounter. He doesn't know if it was a good dream or a bad one, but he's sure that it was important, since for some unknown reason he didn't completely forget it.</p><p>Sean wants to close his eyes and get back into it. Maybe he'll see a room covered in posters and drawings; a desk in a creative mess; Lyla stretching out a packet of just bought cigarettes and giving him a warm smile; or his dad in the striped shirt he gave him for Father's Day, working hard but still distracted when one of his sons wanted to talk.</p><p>Sean can't remember what the dream was, but he has the feeling that somewhere in the fantasy, he forgot something important. His heart is beating steadily, but his soul is aching from something.</p><p>What could he have forgotten?</p><p>Hot breath blows over his neck, and sluggish movements distracts him from his restless, disorderly thoughts. Sean completely regains consciousness, finally breaking away from his sleep. He immediately glances at the mangled alarm clock on the nightstand. The arrows point to 7:40. It's time for a morning workout.</p><p>"It's time to get up," Sean whispers to his younger brother, who is perched brazenly on his chest just like how he had taught him to do.</p><p>Daniel frowns, furrowed his thick brows, and pouts, but doesn't break the embrace, continuing to hug his big brother. He rubs his cheek against Sean's chest and rubs his hard muscles with his fingers, all the while not opening his eyes. Sean strokes his soft hair encouragingly and blows on the dark top of his head, hoping that Daniel will gather enough strength to overcome his laziness, and get up. But he doesn't seem to share his brother's desire. It seems he plans to go back to the land of Morpheus after just leaving it.</p><p>"You promised," Sean reminded, touching his brother's neck and tapping it lightly with his fingers. "'I've decided that from now on, we'll run together on weekend mornings when you don't have to go to school.' Weren't those your words?"</p><p>Daniel is insistently silent, biting his lower lip. He remembers everything perfectly. Last Saturday, he decided that he wanted to run with Sean to keep in shape. The older man had laughed. He was sure that nothing would get his brother out for a run in the morning. Then Daniel made a solemn vow that from now on, despite his laziness and fatigue, he would run with him on weekends. His eyes were so bright that Sean was taken in and believed it.</p><p>"You're cruel," Daniel said hoarsely, disappointed (if not offended) and pulls away from her brother, but he doesn't get up, just turns away and crawls to the other side of the bed, taking the blanket with him.</p><p>"The hardest part is getting started."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"Daniel, come on, this is good," Sean cheerfully jumps out of bed and goes to the window, abruptly pulls back the thick blue curtains and lets the sunlight into the darkened room.</p><p>The younger brother hisses in exasperation and wraps the blanket around his head. Sean still gives the little guy a few minutes to think, maybe come to his senses, remember his promise. In addition, sunlight, they say, affects fruitfully. But there is no reaction. Sean quickly tires of standing like a statue over their bed and waiting for Daniel to get up. He feels like he's wasting time, so he pulls out a pair of gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt from the dresser and gets dressed.</p><p>Turning his attention to the mirror, Sean's eye clings to the black prosthetic. He instinctively reaches for it, but stops the movement halfway. <em>Don't do that and don't look so greedy.</em> With that, the old dream is remembered again. In it, he had a similar feeling. A painful nostalgia that pinches his chest and makes his fingertips prickle.</p><p>What could he have been dreaming about?</p><p>To hell with it. All these thoughts, only torture, drives him to insanity and exhaustion. Only darkness breeds, entangles the mind and pushes him into a deep depression. But Sean had not come all this way to rot away from some disturbing and painful memory that prickled through his mind. A dream will always remain a dream — an empty set of black-and-white frames. You can't live in the present while so dependent on the past. And no matter how happy his soul is to find itself for a moment in the warmth of his father's house, it is better to live in a harsh but real reality than to revel in the impossible.</p><p>"You're not coming, are you?" Sean reproachfully states, turning his attention to his brother. He goes to the bed and roughly pulls the blanket away.</p><p>The cocoon immediately disintegrates, allowing him to see the hidden treasure. Daniel had fallen asleep. His eyes are tightly closed, his dark lashes flutter slightly, his lips parted, and a thread of saliva runs down his chin. Now Daniel looks cute. Cuter than he usually is. Even vulnerable. He's already seventeen — the age of rebellion and crazy antics, disobedience and defiance to the world — and he looks so peaceful, usually preferring to show everyone his thorns, so Sean relents. Maybe today is really not the best day to for athletic exploits. There's still plenty of time.</p><p>He wipes the saliva from his brother's chin with his thumb and covers him up again with the blanket.</p><p>"Okay," Sean tells them both. Today he lost.</p><p>He leaves the room and quietly closes the door behind him. After descending the stairs, Sean finds himself in a spacious living room, picks up the player and headphones (it's not clear who owns them anymore) thrown on the sofa, and immediately sticks them in his ears.</p><p>In front of the street door, he stops and mentally counts to ten, pressing the player's smooth buttons. Maybe Daniel will wake up. The sun's rays will rip him out of his sleep. He'll get up and throw himself down the stairs, begging to wait for him.</p><p>Sean grins at his naivety and puts on a pair of brand-new black and red sneakers given to him by his brother. Daniel isn't an early bird. He likes to stay in bed longer. Even on school days, he's hard to wake up.</p><p>Sean sighs, straightens his shoelaces, takes one last look at the empty staircase, and then goes outside, straight into the arms of the sun.</p>
<hr/><p>Running on a sandy beach is difficult. Sean is just getting started, taking a couple of steps as his leg muscles tighten, and the weight that used to catch him after a ten-minute run falls on his body. When he first started running in the sand, he felt in all its glory how hard it was and how unlike it was jogging in Seattle at the stadium or around the house. But you get used to it. Sean has learned in his short life that you can get used to anything. It's only a matter of time.</p><p>It's a pity that Daniel is so lazy. Running in the morning is especially good: the sun's not burning with its heat, the waves make a melodious melody, running on the shore, and the sky is painted with the most beautiful and pure colors. However, the younger brother is still not a big fan of natural beauty, although he can appreciate the greatness of nature. He doesn't have the beauty-hungry aesthete that lives in Sean.</p><p>And in principle, Daniel doesn't want to improve his body. He regularly skips his physical education classes at school, and the teacher who somehow got hold of Sean's mobile phone number even started complaining about him. Conversations with his wicked little brother are useless as it is impossible to convince him of anything. Especially when Daniel knows that he differs from other people and has powers that can replace the need for exercise. Sometimes he relied on it entirely.</p><p>Sean, aware of his situation, knows that he must keep himself in shape. People in Mexico are different. Some of them are dangerous, and relying on his brother's power all the time is foolhardy. Not to mention the side effects…</p><p>Recently, Daniel had begun feeling weak and sleepy after using his powers. Now, he sometimes falls in a faint or suffers nosebleeds. He boldly declares that everything is all right, however. That he's able to cope with the side effects of his power. But Sean sees everything. Daniel feels much worse than before. Maybe it's the age. Or wine in a hotter climate. Or maybe Daniel is too diligent and is just ashamed to admit it. Either way, Sean doesn't want his brother to use his power too much. But Daniel's too stubborn and rebellious, so he has to put up with his sometimes unbearable antics, not forgetting to look after his condition.</p><p>Today's run is shorter than usual. Sean feels that he has contracted laziness from his brother. And this thought pushes him to another ten minutes of health running along the calming sea. He likes to run in the morning. This brings up many ideas. It's during these visits that Sean can completely give himself up to memories and reflections about the past. There is no place for this in their house.</p><p>They've gotten used to pretending that Seattle never existed. It's easier than accepting what happened in it. The walls of the house absorb words like a sponge and do not forget for a long time. You drop a phrase and the whole house echoes it, making them both suffer, then neither can go to bed at night. The house howls with the phrases they've learned. Sean could have put up with it. He was used to his own thoughts. But it's harder for Daniel. His nightmares are getting worse. He still hasn't learned to accept life as it is, and Sean doesn't want to torment him just so he can dig through old memories.</p><p>But when he's alone, Sean can give in to reflection. He remembers the dream again. What was it about? It was something from there. From a country and a city that will never accept them again. Seattle. Sean dreamed of their house. Some event. Probably a holiday. He resurrects the memory neatly, smooths out the creases carefully, as if it was sheet of paper crumpled by an ignorant person.</p><p>The dream was almost gone. There were only ugly fragments, bits of the picture that Sean could not put together in some understandable and familiar plot. He thinks it was a celebration. There's a lot of lights, almost blinding. There's noises in his ears, and the joy is over his head. It's a childish anticipation of a miracle. Sean can see bright red balloons filled with helium, arranged directly under the ceiling, like a bunch of ripe grapes. He pulls the strings and pulls them back.</p><p>Gap. Breakage. No picture. The scenery is replaced by another, but it's just as blurry and bright, no details, no directions. But Sean hears a voice he'll never forget.</p><p>It's dad. He's coming from another room, but it seems to be from another universe. Still fun and cheerful, full of life and warmth. He's calling Sean. And he runs to his call. Only the frame ends abruptly, and his father is forever locked somewhere in a hastily constructed dream that Sean can't even remember.</p>
<hr/><p>He returns to the house disappointed. Why are dreams so easily forgotten? Or rather, why are dreams so important and precious forgotten? In the shower, Sean has been standing under a jet of water for a long time and is trying to remember more people who do this, remembering to tell himself that he shouldn't. That's what he decided. It's no use. The dream doesn't come back. Don't call out to him anymore.</p><p>Sean turns off the faucet and steps out of the shower, standing in front of the mirror. The reflection looks sad. The prosthetic gleams indifferently.</p><p>In the bedroom, Daniel was still asleep. Sean chuckles and quickly puts on his house shorts, but couldn't find his favorite t-shirt in the drawer. It was definitely taken by Daniel, who always took his brother's clothes without asking, which sometimes made Sean angry. He does not limit Daniel in personal expenses and is always ready to listen to his desires. Doesn't Daniel want to wear his own clothes? Does he want to update his wardrobe? Well, let him say so. As if he thinks Sean will refuse, forcing him to wear old clothes until they're riddled with holes and stains. He'll definitely have to talk to Daniel about it sometime.</p><p>"Looking for something?" He heard a muffled voice from under the blanket.</p><p>"Yes!" Sean answered, closing the drawer abruptly and turning to the lump in the bed. "My t-shirt with the wolf pattern that I applied by hand. Daniel, how many times have I told you not to take my stuff?"</p><p>"I didn't take it," Daniel replied calmly, showing his face. "You threw it in the wash."</p><p>"That's not true!" Sean continues to get annoyed, approaching his brother. "I know I…"</p><p>He does not finish, abruptly pausing. Daniel sits up on the bed and scratches his neck, where a bright purple hickey has settled. His cheeks are wet and his eyes are red. He was crying.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Sean says hastily. "It's nothing…"</p><p>"It wasn't because of you," Daniel shakes his head, still wiping his eyes.</p><p>"Then what?" Sean asks, sitting down next to him and grabbing the younger boy's hands before he rubs his eyes.</p><p>"I had a dream."</p><p>"A nightmare?"</p><p>"No. Some kind of strange dream. I think I saw dad."</p><p>Sean stops and eyes his brother, taken aback. Daniel lazily stretches out his hand and forcibly closes the curtains with his powers, keeping the sun from blinding himself. Suddenly he takes his older brother by the hand and pulls him out, inviting him to lie down next to him. And Sean submits, clutching his outstretched palm firmly. They silently look at each other for a few minutes.</p><p>Daniel makes the first move, his hand gently cupping Sean's cheek. "Are you upset about something?" He asks quietly.</p><p>Sean grabs the hand and kisses the knuckles lightly. In the mornings, Daniel's too good and sweet of a boy.</p><p>"I had a dream, too," he replied.</p><p>"Did you see dad, too?"</p><p>Sean shakes his head.</p><p>"It's a shame you didn't dream about him."</p><p>Sean often forgets important things. He sometimes thinks he's the only one suffering from the lost of their dad. It's just as hard for Daniel to know that dad is gone. Maybe the wound would have been smaller if they had discussed it in the past. But it's still hard for Sean to talk about these things. Even to the closest person in the world to him. It's a common tragedy, but it doesn't change how personal it is for him. One day he will be able to talk about it openly. But not now.</p><p>"Breakfast is on you," Sean recalls, giving Daniel a quick kiss on the mouth.</p><p>"You have no compassion!" Daniel sulks. "I almost died yesterday in P.E. and my legs still hurt."</p><p>"You sure weren't complaining last night," Sean replied, slyly.</p><p>"I was too focused on the pleasure."</p><p>Nice, sweet, but clever. That's Sean's little brother. But he was right. Yesterday, Daniel came home tired and exhausted. He couldn't even get his dinner in. He'd pick his fork in pasta at random and dragged himself upstairs and in bed, he didn't show any of his usual vigor, didn't bite or even try to force the whole house into the air, and fell asleep as soon as they were finished. He should get some rest. Not to mention the fact that it is necessary to encourage the passing of regulations: something Daniel usually postpones till the last minute.</p><p>"Okay," Sean finally says. "I'll be doing the cooking today."</p><p>"Really?" Daniel asks. "I'm not mad at you."</p><p>"I just love you so much," Sean grins, "and when you love someone, you sometimes sacrifice for them."</p><p>Daniel's face takes on a deeply thoughtful expression for just a minute, then he pulls out of the cocoon blanket and forces open the curtains, which immediately envelop him in a gentle light.</p><p>"Treat me some other time. I'll being making breakfast."</p><p>"Are you sure? It's easy for me. If you're not feeling well, I..."</p><p>"Shh," Daniel puts his index finger to Sean's lips, silencing him. "I know you'll always help me. I'm okay. Don't worry about it. You better get some sleep yourself. You look tired."</p><p>He touches his brother's cheek again with his hand and then kisses him on the lips. Not like Sean's. Slowly, deeply, depravedly. As only he could.</p><p>"And good morning."</p><p>Daniel puts on his most sly smile and walks around Sean, apparently about to take a shower. And Sean seriously thinks about the offer to rest. The night vision seemed to wear him out and there was a lot of work to do last night. Not to mention a very nasty and annoying client who comes in almost every week to say that there are better workshops.</p><p>"Daniel," Sean says, sitting up on the bed.</p><p>"Yes?" the younger one immediately turns around, still smiling slyly and contentedly.</p><p>"Since you're so easy going, do me a favor."</p><p>"I am at your service!"</p><p>"At least put on your underpants."</p><p>Daniel rolls his eyes and silently sings "nerd." Previously, he had not been known for his penchant for nudity. On the contrary, he was ashamed when he exposed too much skin. At fourteen, he even refused to wear short shorts. Now he is more often running around naked at home. It was a good thing that the strange habit had not passed their threshold. He can walk around like that if he wants. But it's better to wear underwear.</p><p>With their exchange done Daniel goes to the bathroom, closes the door and no sooner after could Sean hear him adjusting the water. Also a funny quirk. Daniel in terms of water temperature is very, very fastidious.</p><p>Sean lies down on the bed and stares at the ceiling which has been carefully patched up recently, but which has not withstood the pressure of the elements.</p><p>He lets out a yawn.</p><p>He's sleepy. Sean surprises himself, but still closes his eyes to an unusual desire. He's not used to sleeping till lunchtime. He gets up early, runs, and then he's taken to work all the way to the evening. In the beginning, this regime was exhausting. Sometimes Sean just didn't feel like the next morning was coming for him and this was one of those times. Maybe he won't wake up this time. Maybe his soul will just leave his body and go to Heaven where his dad and dog Mushroom are…</p><p>That was a pointless delusion. Sean knows when he dies his soul will not go to Heaven. He's committed too many sins.</p><p>But he can't leave Daniel alone. It was the thought of his brother that gave Sean the strength to keep him from submitting to the evil judge. It was difficult. Some days were like hell. Sometimes Sean even thought he died there on the border, under the fire of the cops, and all this is a hallucination from blood loss that ends in tragedy. But Daniel always showed up. The sun behind him served as a halo. And Sean was reaching for him with his whole body, every thought, and he always saved him.</p><p>"Hey, Sean," someone says.</p><p>Sean opens his eyes, looking around. Had he fallen asleep? Apparently. Daniel's hair was wet, and he had a towel wrapped around his waist. He stood in the doorway, staring at him.</p><p>"Did you fall asleep?" Daniel asks.</p><p>"No, just dozed off… What did you want?"</p><p>"I wanted to say that I regret nothing," Daniel responds, his voice firm, confident and resonant as if he had rehearsed this phrase.</p><p>Sean is so surprised that he doesn't immediately understand what's being said.</p><p>"What brought this on?" he asks, sitting up on the bed, looking at Daniel, who is suddenly fidgeting.</p><p>"I'm glad you and I are here," Daniel says with an effort, but it's obvious he's just as confused with this situation. "And together. You and me... um, forget it, it doesn't matter, I just…"</p><p>"Cub, thank you," Sean helps his brother, feeling that he needs support. "I'm glad, too."</p><p>"Well, then... Don't forget it."</p><p>After these words, Daniel disappears, rushing down the stairs, and Sean returns to the prone position, pondering his brother's words. It's amazing how Daniel can sense his mood. The older Daniel gets, the more transparent people become to him. Even as a child, he was distinguished by the ability to find a common language with everyone. Now he can successfully comprehend souls, finding the very words of comfort that give the desired peace.</p><p>Sean felt a wave of calm wash over him. Disturbing thoughts and images no longer seem so frightening. Seattle is again lost in the fog, completely dissolved. And his hands remember his father's still warm body with the bullet that left a bright blooming wound on his chest.</p><p>It's all gone. Sean exhales, calming down. Images are erased, returning to the valley of the lost. He's been through it all. Now everything is different. As it should be. Perhaps this is their paradise. A piece of happiness that no one will ever give them. A lost paradise that they had built together, forever severed from the life they loved.</p><p>"What would your father say?" Sean asks suddenly, and immediately replies, "Does it matter?"</p><p>Then a voice from the past calls to him from the depths of the house:</p><p>"Sean! Breakfast is ready!"</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Intruder</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A translation of <a href="https://ficbook.net/readfic/9354173">Потерянный рай</a> by <a href="https://ficbook.net/authors/1674543">Momo-Yuu</a>.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was unbearably hot in the auto shop. The air conditioner had been out of order for two days, but Sean hadn't worried about it, deciding to give the fan Daniel had dragged into the house which he'd found at the local flea market, a chance. That old unit speeds up the black blades pretty well (despite the distressing hum), but it's no match for the Mexican heat.</p><p>Sean pulls out a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and greedily gulps down the neck. It reminds him of his great journey to the sectarian monastery in search of Daniel. Fortunately, here he has nowhere to hurry and can hide from the sun, not just in the shade of billboards and the younger brother does not need to be rescued and can return to him on his own.</p><p>It's been an overly tiring day. Sean screws the lid back on and returns the bottle to the refrigerator, then lands on a squeaky chair and idly stares at the paperwork piled on the table. Daniel is more capable dealing with the paperwork, something he stubbornly continues to be proud of. But he can't stay in the office 24 hours a day. As much as Sean would love to switch places with his brother and write poor essays on moral values and healthy living while he checks the data instead, Daniel needed an education. Besides, Sean remembers himself at that age. He was sick of the commitment and his father's self-imposed suggestions: "Come on, Sean, it's just for the weekend." Despite everything that has happened to them, Daniel is trying to be an ordinary teenager. There must be work in such a life, too, but something else clearly prevails.</p><p>"Shit," Sean says wearily, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.</p><p>They need the money. He can't be a slacker and can't take the easy way out. But Sean is still struggling. Lately he's been so tired of hovering over engines or hanging out under hoods. He also has to deal with peculiar customers who often put him down and ridicule him. Old David had once told Sean that his face was etched by the storm of suffering and loss, the road of pain and destruction, and such people are always attracted to him. Especially some people here, looking for a new victim day and night. "You're a delicacy to them," David said, and laughed. Sean said nothing.</p><p>There was an ambivalent attitude toward them. Daniel had almost no problems at school. At first, it was difficult because of his lack of knowledge of the language, but he was not lacking in charm: he won over the entire class and the teacher with one smile. Still, even he sometimes gets into fights with particularly aggressive students, but Daniel knows how to put the offender in his place, coming out of the situation completely clean.</p><p>Sean, on the other hand, had a much harder time with the local population. At first, he was treated with contempt and indifference. The work he was given was difficult and almost unpaid (which, by the way, he was used to in the United States). Fights were frequent. Some had a problem with his accent, some on how he spoke, some were terribly curious about where such a handsome kid had lost his eye. Fortunately, David showed him some leniency and often put the others in their place, not letting them bully him. David's authority was undeniable, and few dared to confront him openly. He was the one who helped Sean with the papers for Daniel's school. David also had a younger brother. He died when he was thirteen, by some terrible coincidence. That's probably why he treats them so well. And he doesn't even ask pesky questions like, "So what exactly were you fleeing to Mexico from?"</p><p>Fortunately, things are much better now. They are accepted. Sean even has acquaintances at the local bar with whom he can discuss broken carburetors and cooking pasta. But he doesn't always have good luck with clients. It's time he got used to that too.</p><p>There's a knock on the door. Sean doesn't even have time to react when the door opens wide, and his least favorite client enters the workshop.</p><p>"Can you give me a minute?" Julian asks in a nasty drawl, his thin lips stretched into a fake smile, and his eyes fixed with an evil squint.</p><p>Sean knew that today was the day to expect trouble. Ever since this morning he had had a bad feeling. A chain of anxiety encircled his body and squeezed more and more tightly in its grip until a joyful Julian in his favorite blue suit and white shirt with a stand-up starched collar appeared on the doorstep of the auto shop. No one in Mexico dresses so flamboyantly bright except him.</p><p>Although outwardly he is quite handsome to Sean: tall, thin, well-built, with high cheekbones and thick eyebrows—he would have preferred never to cross paths with him again. You can only expect trouble from Julian and Sean has enough trouble as is. But a refusal could provoke the local crime lord. The backlash will be devastating. Julian doesn't look dangerous, but Sean knows how much power he has concentrated in his wiry hands.</p><p>The intruder doesn't like the lack of response. He frowns his eyebrows and his smile grows harsher. Julian goes on the offensive.</p><p>"If you can't do it now, I'll come by tonight," he says casually, but his voice sounds menacing. "It's been a long time since I've seen your brother," he chirps, looking around the workshop for Daniel. "How old is he now? Seventeen?"</p><p>"Fifteen," Sean squeezes out: he has no choice. He gets up and goes to his intruder. "I have time."</p><p>"Really?" Julian feigns surprise. "Great. Don't just make such a sad face."</p><p>Sean is silent as he humbly escorts Julian to the part of the house that is off-limits to intruder. But he can't just drive him away. David said that there are consequences for messing with him. Sometimes lethal. At the time Sean had no choice but to get involved with him. He needed documents and Julian was an expert at getting what he wanted. So David helped them meet. His services were not cheap, but Sean had been pleased with the result. Even then, Julian showed a special interest in their family and even offered Sean a job which he immediately refused.</p><p>Julian specializes in anything questionable and illegal. They say he's got some serious connections in the big city and several prison terms (for a total of forty years), so he is hiding from the hands of justice in the local backwoods. He's got himself a gang here, dealing in many things, helping with various degrees of illegality. Of course, he thinks he's an unbelievable crime boss to whom everyone should bow at his feet, but Sean has more faith in David's assessment: "Loud, stupid and pathetic, but with long arms and a bundle of bills." However, Sean still doesn't want to get involved with him. Getting his hands dirty now, when he and his brother had just settled in—it was idiotic and Julian is not so active for him to think about getting rid of him.</p><p>They settle in the kitchen which this morning was diligently cleaned by Daniel. Looking around at the clean stove, the nightstands, and the brand-new soft yellow tablecloth on the table, Sean can't help but smile. He'd thought his brother wouldn't do it, would think of some excuse. But he kept his word. Daniel had matured a lot in recent years…</p><p>"I heard you ran out a young gang of thugs. I wonder how you did it?"</p><p>Unexpectedly. Sean's smile fades immediately, but he stays calm. He's learned from Daniel how to respond to such outbursts. Still, it was unfortunate that these insignificant rumors had reached Julian as well. Sean hoped that Daniel had scared those guys so much that they wouldn't say a word. And who would believe their tales? But the truth did shine in the Mexican sun. Now Julian himself was twisting it in his hands, probably pondering intensely whether it was delusion or secret truth. However, he still won't get to the truth if Sean could help it.</p><p>"I'm very eloquent," Sean says a little indifferently, shrugging his shoulders. He looks Julian straight in the eyes. It's the only way to lie.</p><p>"Really? I heard they were scared shitless by some grim boy who could turn an entire house upside down with his mind."</p><p>"Fear has large eyes," Sean smiles, pretending that the story seems ridiculous and amusing to him.</p><p>"And how did you scare them?" the intruder does not calm down.</p><p>"Is that all you came for?" Sean asks sharply, crossing his arms over his chest.</p><p>"No," Julian laughs nastily, knowing he will not get an answer. "But it was worth a try. I'm wondering, Sean, why didn't you join me?"</p><p>"More of this pointless chatter," Sean laments inwardly. He really wants to roll his eye and tell Julian to leave once and for all, forgetting the way to the Diaz residence. But it's too late for that. He'd already opened the door. Not to mention that it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep a relatively good relationship with the crime boss. So far they need nothing, but who knows what tomorrow brings. You never know when some unknown force will awaken in you and force you to sever all precious ties and leave your native land. But Sean doesn't want to work for Julian.</p><p>"I didn't want to be a drug dealer or a pimp."</p><p>"Its good money."</p><p>"I can provide for myself."</p><p>"That's probably the most amazing thing for me. I don't know how you and your brother survived in these parts."</p><p>"We were brought up right."</p><p>Julian is silent, and that silence does not bode well. After a minute, he sits imposingly at the table, licks his thin lips in a slow motion, and then asks Sean to make him a cup of coffee.</p><p>Sean doesn't move, unwilling to obey his intruder's wishes. Julian is so damn patient.</p><p>Julian remains silent and continues to sit looking at Daniel's colorful drawings, fixed with magnets on the refrigerator. He shows with all his appearance that he will not leave. So Sean surrenders, complying with the insolent request. He makes coffee in complete silence, which irritates him with its contrived serenity.</p><p>Time seems to drag on twice as slowly. Sean stands with his back to Julian, but he feels the latter's gaze studying him. The kettle seems to slow down on purpose, obeying Julian's curious gaze, playing along with his desires. Sean is boiling up inside. He's getting annoyed with this situation. Finally, the coveted click is heard. The Diaz tosses one spoonful of instant coffee into the mug and pours hot water, thinking to himself: "Get the fuck out of here, asshole," and then sets it down in front of the already-expectant Julian.</p><p>He takes the mug and wrinkles his nose. Doesn't even take a sip. Just puts the mug on the table and strokes the ceramic edge with his index finger.</p><p>"Sean, your auto shop isn't a gold mine," he finally says, his tone serene and neck titled. "You won't have it for long. Do you understand me? How about thinking of the future?"</p><p>Sean doesn't answer. So that's why he's here. He should have known. But Sean didn't think Julian would be particularly interested in him. Why would he be? He's just a normal guy. Also disabled. Raising his brother alone. Saw little action. Works all the time. Sometimes he draws. Why would a crime boss want him? Maybe he needed Daniel's power. Then there's only one answer.</p><p>"I don't know how your brother manages it, but I'm sure it's his presence in your life that makes it so safe. But for how long? Children grow up. And he's a handsome, capable, charming guy… One day he'll leave you alone in this hellhole. So think about an alternative. Do you understand?"</p><p><em>Now</em> Sean doesn't understand at all. He quirks an eyebrow in surprise. Why would he want him? What does Julian want from him? All questions. No answers.</p><p>"I can take care of myself, so there's no need…"</p><p>Julian grabs Sean abruptly by his right wrist and pulls him toward him. A mug of coffee falls to the floor. Luckily Julian escapes the brown splatter, keeping his suit almost perfectly clean, but the same can't be said for Sean's house and his home shorts.</p><p>"I won't hurt you, and I'll spare you the dirty work," Julian says in a languid whisper, gazing into Sean's bewildered eye. "I can see the beauty in broken and discarded things."</p><p>As Julian's long fingers lightly caressed his hand it finally dawns on him. David had said something about "strange interests" that Julian couldn't always keep to himself.</p><p>"Let me go," Sean shrank back, not pulling back his hand, his entire body tensing.</p><p>"I won't hurt you," Julian assures him, grinning, mistakenly reading the fear and anxiety in the surprised and confused expression on Sean's face. "All you have to do is be a good boy and meet me halfway. Then I can…"</p><p>"Sean!"</p><p>The call startles Julian, and he immediately lets go of Sean's hand, leaves the table and turns to Daniel, who appeared on the threshold of the kitchen. He came from the living room.</p><p>Sean sincerely hopes that his brother did not hear the vile conversation, which will forever be baked in the walls of his native home and will annoy him with its invisible traces for a long time.</p><p>"Oh, it's little Daniel. Remember me?" Julian says sweetly, grinning. He tries to sound friendly, but it's disgustingly fake.</p><p>"What are you doing here?" the younger Diaz asks sharply and frowning, glaring at the intruder in anger. Too angry. Daniel's furious.</p><p>"I came to see your brother to talk about something important."</p><p>"Why the mess?" Daniel asks tartly, nodding at the dark puddle sprawled across the wooden floor.</p><p>"I'm so clumsy," Julian laughs, and then turns to Sean, "I have to go now, so I hope that you'll reconsider my offer, and we can talk about it again. Good luck to you."</p><p>Sean immediately wants to throw in a "no", but Julian is already leaving, deftly avoiding the mess he has made. It's for the best. For his own safety he shouldn't make Daniel any more angrier. He's not a patient man. The intruder leaves the house not through the workshop, but through the living room, as Daniel came.</p><p>The brothers are silent until the distinctive slam of the door is heard. Off he goes. Sean exhales, stretching his neck. He's glad that his brother showed up so early and interrupted an inappropriate scene that Sean never expected to be a part of. He had noticed from the first time they'd met that Julian's gaze had been fixed on him for too long. At that time, he mistook it as an interest in his injury, but it turned out he was looking at Sean, not his injury. Part of Sean was flattered by the attention. However, he has no intention of complicating things with Julian, and even more so to meet him halfway.</p><p>"Did class end early?" Sean asks, smiling wearily.</p><p>He wants to ignore the sticky coffee puddle, and with it the incident that occurred.</p><p>"What was he doing here?" Daniel's tone sparkles with anger. He hasn't calmed down at all even though Julian was gone.</p><p>"He just came over to talk and…"</p><p>"Are you kidding me? I heard everything!"</p><p>He's angry. Furious. Sean sighs. Daniel is fifteen years old and has good control over his power, but when he is overcome by violent emotions, he goes along with them too easily. Sean had already told him a hundred times that it was important to always keep your temper in check, and whatever the situation, it was worth remembering the power lurking in a mortal body.</p><p>He's sure Daniel can control himself. All he has to do is try a little harder. A little less obedience to the wolf within and a little more often to think about the consequences. Despite that, Daniel is only fifteen. Hormones and feelings are running high. The entire world seems hostile and he wants to fight it all the time…</p><p>"Okay," Sean holds out his hand as if throwing out a white flag, hoping to awaken his brother's sanity by giving up. "What exactly makes you angry?"</p><p>"Everything!" Daniel replies laconically, grinning. His anger makes the dishes in the cabinet ring. Spoons and forks rise into the air, twirling in a nervous waltz.</p><p>"He's already gone," Sean points out, trying to sound non-confrontational, trying to get Daniel to do the same. "I couldn't just chase him away, you know?"</p><p>He understands. Sean knows his brother understands this perfectly. Something else is pissing him off. What is it?</p><p>"Let's be frank. What's got you so pissed off? I didn't know he was coming. Or is it because of the mess? Or did you expect me to kick him out? Daniel, what did I do wrong?"</p><p>Daniel frowns, twists his lips, and gives Sean an irritated glare. His brown eyes are dancing with the flames of hell which Sean, apparently, is destined to burn to death in.</p><p>Mugs rise into the air, and the older man holds the tray with one hand, preventing it from joining in the service dance. The kitchen light blinks furiously. It's time to be scared and scream at the top of his lungs. But Sean swore to himself that he would never scream again when Daniel used his powers. Instead, he'd talk. Then they can solve the problem together. He isn't going to be frightened by the flames that are raging opposite of him. He won't get burned.</p><p>Daniel noisily exhales. His lips relax, and the objects gently return to their rightful places. Daniel's gaze turns sad and lost. The flames subside. Sean feels like his brother is about to cry.</p><p>"Why didn't you tell him I'd never leave you?" Daniel finally says. "Why did you just listen to him talk shit and not say anything? I thought… I thought we were a team! You don't trust me at all! What do I have to do to make you take me seriously?"</p><p>"Daniel, don't say that," Sean hurriedly tries to explain himself, never thinking that his brother would be hurt by his silence.</p><p>But what could he have said? It's unpleasant and even painful to realize, but Sean knows that maybe Julian is right. Still, while Daniel is still a child, and he needs a parent, a partner in games and fun, who gives him love daily, forgives his mistakes and spoils him endlessly. But one day, this colorful world from their dreams may turn into an ordinary prison with gilded bars. Sean is sure he has nowhere else to go. Puerto Lobos will one day be his grave. He has wandered too long, made too many mistakes, and needs too much of the soothing silence and little things that remind him of his father, which have so far served him faithfully as a consolation. He would die in the Mexican sun with no regrets.</p><p>Daniel has no such shackles. With age, the world expands, the horizons go further and further, and the youthful fervor should be violently pushed into the path. Sean understands that the road and new places can call. He will understand if one day Daniel says that his path goes somewhere far, far away from here. On this journey, the brother will selflessly go alone. Sean will be hurt, unbearably hurt. But he would accept Daniel's every wish and not hold him back. The main thing is that he would be happy and free. The rest is not so important. Sean will live on his own somehow. He might even work for Julian, but that was a question of the future, which might not be there at all.</p><p>"Daniel, you're growing up, there's nothing wrong with that…"</p><p>"So what if I'm growing up? Do you think I'll grow up and throw you away? Is that the person you think I am?"</p><p>"No, I mean, there's nothing wrong with that… I mean… Daniel, no one knows what's coming tomorrow, so why even think about it? Let's just have lunch together, huh?"</p><p>"You think I'm thoughtless, immature, and cruel enough to leave you here?"</p><p>"God, no…"</p><p>"We're a team, or was it just me?"</p><p>"We're a team!"</p><p>"Then I don't understand you at all. I thought we were always there for each other. After all, we have no one else. We trusted each other completely, but it turns out that you don't really believe in me…"</p><p>"That's not true, enano," Sean comes closer and touches his brother's shoulder, looking into his eyes. "Please, don't take it personally. I just made a mistake. Let's forget it, huh?"</p><p>Daniel hangs his head down. There's a wistful look on his face. He's very upset.</p><p>"I want to be alone," Daniel answers blankly and leaves.</p><p>Not even that. He's running away. Sean hears the door rattling upstairs. Daniel's annoyed, and who can blame him for that? Sean curses. His prosthesis eye begins to itch again, from this stress of this ordeal. He goes upstairs and after knocking on the door of his brother's room, opens it, looking inside. Daniel is lying flat on the bed, staring at the ceiling.</p><p>Just as Sean is about to call out to him, the door, obeying a telekinetic force, closes, and he flies off to the opposite wall.</p><p>"I said I wanted to be alone!" His brother shouts.</p><p>"Can we talk about it?"</p><p>"I don't want to."</p><p>Talking through the door is a stupid idea. Not to mention Daniel is too angry and annoyed to listen to his older brother's arguments or to forgive him out of compassion for his selfish mistakes. Sean suddenly realizes that he is getting angry himself. Daniel boasts that he is an adult who can be trusted, that he is reasonable, but he can't talk openly and he's just so damn frustrated about everything…</p><p>Everything.</p><p>That's a sure sign to leave him alone. Otherwise, this situation will really turn into a disgusting and senseless falling out for which they will both regret later.</p><p>Sean hopes that his brother will calm down by the evening, but those hopes are quickly dashed. Daniel stays locked in his room, listening to old tapes of Mexican pop stars unknown to Sean through a tape recorder. The door doesn't open and no answers come from behind it. Sean eats dinner alone. Rather, he plays with the food: tortures rotten tomatoes with a knife, twists pasta on a fork, draws a wolf on the dining table with sauce he put on the tip of his pinky finger. Daniel doesn't come down. So Sean sits until nightfall, waiting for who knows what.</p><p>By twelve o'clock, his eye begins to close. Tomorrow, another difficult client should come to him, and it would be nice to get enough sleep for this meeting, so he wouldn't come off as an incompetent repairman. As he passes the door to Daniel's room, Sean stops. Daniel turned off the music. Maybe he's already asleep. It seems this will be the first night they'll spend apart. However, it's as it should be. Sean has long found it strange that he and his brother are sleeping in the same bed when there are other beds available. This change is clearly for the best. But Sean is still a little sad. His heart is troubled by strange feelings that he can't explain. From something sadness takes him captive. Only from what? "What's wrong?"—Sean asks himself, hoping that the answer he wants will appear in clear letters right in front of his eye. But only silence from the house and his own heart, still bound by unconscious sorrows, answers him.</p><p>Sean's kind of tired, kind of sleepy, kind of needs a break…</p><p>It's one o'clock in the morning, and he can't sleep. He lies on the bed and fights the urge to smoke. He had already smoked three cigarettes in an hour. It's time to stop. The only thing is, he can't stop smoking. So Sean once again reaches for the crumpled pack lying on the nightstand.</p><p>Suddenly the door to the room opens. Startled, Sean drops the pack on the floor.</p><p>Daniel says nothing. He carefully closes the door, then opens it again.</p><p>"It stinks," he says, heading for the bed.</p><p>Sean can't see his expression in the dark.</p><p>"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were, well, coming, I mean, you're, like, uh…"</p><p>Daniel doesn't seem to listen. He lies down on the bed, covers himself with his plaid blanket, and pointedly turns away from his brother.</p><p>He should say something. Apologize? Or explain himself? Try to open a dialogue? Or give a kindly scolding? Maybe be strict? Or ask why he came?</p><p>Sean's head is boiling with thoughts. Why don't teenagers with superpowers come with a communication manual attached to them? Sean wouldn't mind some detailed, comprehensive guide for dummies. It seems he is already completely failed as an older brother, and all his attempts to talk with Daniel as equals turned out to be a failure.</p><p>Sean picks up a pack of cigarettes from the floor and sits up on the bed, preparing to leave the room and go outside to smoke there, away from his smell-sensitive brother. Maybe the fresh air would be good for the mess in his head.</p><p>"Good night," Daniel blurts.</p><p>"Oh, yeah, good night," Sean whispers in surprise, looking at his brother's back.</p><p>"It's late," the younger Diaz yawns. "It's time to rest."</p><p>Sean nods, smiling. His eyes really sticks together. Sean's head returns to the pillow. He still feels like smoking. "I still need to get out," he thought to himself, clutching the half-empty pack in his hands and closing his eye. It's time to rest.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wish all you readers a Happy New Year.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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